Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

The Cooperative Extension Service is a partnership of county, state, and federal government which serves the citizens of Florida by providing information and training on a wide variety of topics. In Florida, the Extension Service is a part of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food an Agricultural Sciences with selected programs at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU).

Extension touches almost everyone in the state from the homeowner to huge agribusiness operations in such areas as food safety, gardening, child and family development, consumer credit counseling, youth development, energy consumption, sustainable agriculture, competitiveness in world markets, and natural resource conservation. Each of Florida’s counties has an extension office.

Extension Programs

Fishing For Success (FFS) is a multifaceted program that uses fishing and other related activities as the “hook” to introduce children of all ages to various aspects of fisheries and aquatic environmental sciences. The current program began in 1998, and has constantly evolved to meet the needs of 4-H extension faculty, teachers, youth group leaders and the community at large. The initial focus of the program was to provide mentoring and career counseling to a small group of underprivileged youth.

Florida LAKEWATCH is a volunteer citizen lake monitoring program that facilitates “hands-on” citizen participation in the management of Florida lakes, rivers and coastal sites through monthly monitoring activities.

The mission of the extension program is to support and enhance environmentally and economically-sustainable shellfish aquaculture in Florida. The industry produces over 150 million hard clams annually while providing hundreds of jobs in rural coastal communities. The program addresses the needs of the industry through integration of applied research projects with outreach and educational efforts.

Extension Publications

For information on FAS Extension Publications, click here or use the link on the left menu.

Extension Contacts

Have a question about fisheries, aquaculture, or pond management? Extension staff associated with the department will be happy to help.